Scrubbing



(No Model.)

P. W. RICHTER'.

SCRUBBING APPLIANCE.

ms persas Co., Pno'roumo.. wAswNcmu o e Vin accordance with this invention.

@PATENT Erica.

FREDERICK W. RICHTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SCRUBBING APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 601,678, dated April 5, 1898.

Application filed June 3, 1897. Serial No. 639,365. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.'

Beit known thatLFREDERIoK W. RICHTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Scrubbing Appliance, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in scrubbing appliances.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of scrubbing appliances and to provide a simple and comparativelyinexpensive device designed to be used in connection with a cleaner or squeegee and adapted to permit dirty water to be swept or propelled into it by the said cleaner or squeegee and capable, when stairs are being scrubbed,of being arranged against the risers to direct water into it.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for wiping a squeegee or cleaner and causing the dirty water from the same to fall into the pan or receptacle.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a Ascrubbing appliance constructed Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail perspective view illustrating the manner of mounting the pivoted plates.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings. 4

l designates a tray or receptacle, preferably constructed of sheet metal and soldered or otherwise finished in such manner as to ends of the sides are slightly truncated at 4, and the front edge 5 of the bottom 6 is bent upward and soldered or otherwise secured to the inclined front side 3, which is provided at its ends with longitudinally disposed iianges or guards 7 extending vertically from the face of the front side 3 and preferably formed integral with the side walls of the tray. The guards or flanges 7 serve to confine the water as it is swept over the inclined front side 3 ofthe tray, as will be readily understood, and they have their front ends 8 projecting beyond the extended front edge 9 of the front side 3 to prevent a transverse strip 10 of celluloid or other suitable material, such as rubber, from being injured during the use of the device by coming in contact with walls or similar surfaces.

The extended ends 8 are deflected laterally t-o prevent them from coming in contact with the rubber of a squeegee or cleaner and to enable the latter to be of a length equal to the Width of the inclined front, so that it Will t snugly between the iianges 7 and effectvely sweep Water up the inclined front and into the pan or receptacle. The outwardlybent ends 8 provide an easy entrance for the squeegee or cleaner and prevent the rubber of the same from being cut.

The celluloid strip l0, which is secured to the lower face of the front end of the tra7 by a metal binding-strip l1 and suitable fastening devices l2, iits closely against a door, step, or other surface being scrubbed and facilitates the ready removal of water therefrom by preventing the same from getting beneath the tray as it is swept toward the front of the same to direct it up the inclined front wall or side 3.

, The particular construction of the front of the pan or tray forms a recess at the front thereof, vand nuts or bosses 13, with threaded openings,lare arranged therein and secured by solder or other suitable means in position to be engaged by the fastening devices l2, which preferably consist of screws. The

binding-strip ll, which is constructed of sheet metal, is folded longitudinally and covers the 95 upper and lower faces of the inner portion of the celluloid strip 10. By this construction the celluloid strip is detachably secured to the tray or pan and is firmly supported and prevented from breaking at the fastening` IOO devices, which pass through perforations of the sides of the binding-strip and the celluloid strip.

In order to cushion the pan or tray and prevent the Celluloid strip from being readily broken or injured in placing it upon a iioor or other surface, a pair of pivoted plates 14 is provided. These plates 14, which are arranged on the outer faces of the flanges 7 and the adjacent portions of the sides of the tray or pan, are pivoted between their ends and project beyond the extensions 8 ofl the said flanges, and they are provided at their inner ends with perforated flanges or lips 15, which are engaged by springs 16, whereby the front portions of the plates are thrown downward and caused to project beyond the lower face of the strip l0. These pivoted plates form yielding cushions for engaging the iloor or other surface being scrubbed, and the springs 16, which are provided at their front ends with hooks for engaging the perforated lips l 15, consist of substantially straight pieces of resilient wire and are soldered or otherwise secured at their inner or rear ends to the outer faces of the sides of the pan or tray. The eX- tensions 8 of the iianges 7 and the pivoted plates form guards and prevent the rubber strip of a cleaner or squeegee from being inluloid, the cushioning-plates 14, which-project forward beyond the strip, are unnecessary and may be omitted. The springs 16, besides cushioning the plates 14, serve to hold them in proper position for protecting the celluloid strip and for preventing the same from coming in contact with anl object during the use of the scrubbing appliance.

The rear wall of the pan or tray is extended and bent rearwardly to form a transverse lip or guard 17, which is adapted to be arranged against the riser, so that the dirty water being scraped or swept from the next above tread portion of the stairs will descend into the tray or pan.

The tray or pan is provided with a central longitudinal partition 18, extending from the front to the back of the same to prevent water from rushing from one side thereof to the other and unbalancing the device and rendering it difficult to manipulate, but the partition 18 is provided at its ends with openings 19 and 20, so that the water may be thoroughly emptied from the tray or pan without spilling a portion of it. The said longitudinal partition is provided with an'integral vertically-disposed disk 2l, to which is pivoted an adjustable handle 22, bifurcated at its lower end to receive the disk and carrying a transversely-disposed pin 23, mounted in a suitable housing and arranged to engage any one of a series of perforations 24 of the disk, whereby the handle is secured at the desired adjustment. The perforations are arranged in a curved series, and the handle is provided with a transverse perforation adapted to register with any one of a series of perforations to permit the locking-pin to be passed through the same.

The pan or tray is provided with enlargements o1' bosses 25, located on the lower face of the bottom at the back thereof to form feet or rests to prevent the bottom of the pan resting flat upon a iioor or other supporting-surface'. The back of the pan is cushioned by a buffer 26, consisting of a disk of rubber secured to the bottom at a point between the enlargements or bosses 25, and it is of greater thickness than the same in order to contact with the floor first. The buffer or cushion and the enlargements or bosses by maintain ing the bottom of the pan slightly above the floor prevent the pan or tray from being readily worn, and it may be constructed of material other than rubber. By supporting the back of the pan or receptacle at one point the front of -it is enabled to fit more closely against an uneven door, especially when the pan or receptacle is more or less full.

The pan or tray is provided at opposite sideswith projections or lugs 27, adapted to rest upon a pair of nails or hooks designed to be driven into a wall or other supporting-surface to form a support for the device when the same is not in use.

ln order to enable the cleaner or squeegee to be wiped and also to cause the dirty water removed from the saine to fall into the pan or receptacle, a transverse scraper-bar 2S is employed. The scraper-bar 28, which is located slightly in rear of the inclined front 3, is curved in cross-section, presenting an upper convex face and a lower concave face, and is IOO secured to the sides of the pan or receptacle and to the partition 18. It is adapted to scrape dirty Water from a squeegee or cleaner and cause the same to fall in the pan or re,- ceptacle, and it is arranged adjacent to the upper edge of the front 3, in the path of the squeegee or scrubber, in convenient position so that it may be readily engaged by the said squeegee or scraper after it has been swept up the inclined front of the tray or receptacle. The front 3 is provided at its upper or rear edge with a depending ange arranged at a slight inclination, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

It will be seen that the scrubbing appliance is simple, easily constructed, and inexpensive, that it will save time and labor, and that it will enable the dirty Water on a floor to be removed without returning it into a pail or other receptacle containing clean Water.

It will also be apparent that the device willA IIO ingly-inclined lip or guard projecting from the opposite side of the tray, the said inclined side being provided with end langes or guards A ance comprising a substantially rectangular Water tray or receptacle, a gradually inclining or slanting side to said receptacle, vertically-disposed flanges or guides at the extremities of said inclined side, and an adj ustable handle secured within said tray, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The herein-described scrubbing appliance comprising a tray or receptacle having an inclined front, atransverse lip projecting rearward from the upper edge of the back of the tray or receptacle, a vertical partitiondisposed longitudinally of the tray or receptacle and provided at its ends with openings, and an adjustable handle mounted on the partition,- substantially as described.

4. The herein-described scrubbing appliance comprising a trayor receptacle having an inclined front and provided at the ends .thereof with vertical ilanges extended beyond the inclined front to form guards, and

a ilexible strip secured to the bottom of the tray or receptacle at the front thereof, adapted to iit closely against a door or other supporting-surface and terminating short of the projecting ends of the flanges, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a tray or receptacle provided at its front with a strip, of guards located at opposite sides of the tray or receptacle, yieldingly mounted on the same and projecting beyond the strip to form cushions, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination-with a tray or receptacle, of a pair of plates pivoted at opposite sides thereof and projecting Aforward therefrom to form guards, and springs mounted on the tray or receptacle and connected with the inner 'or rear portions of the plates, whereby the latter arey yieldingly mounted and form cushions, substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a tray or receptacle having an inclined front extended beyond the bottom to form a transverse recess, a ilexible strip provided With a rigid binding-strip and extending beyond the inclined front, and guard-plates arranged at opposite sides of the tray or receptacle and extending beyond the flexible strip, substantially as described.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a tray or receptacle having an `inclined front extending beyond the bottom and forming a transverse recess, bosses arranged in the recess and provided with threaded openings, a iiexible strip provided at its inner edge with a binding-strip and arranged on the bottom of the tray and projecting beyond the front thereof, and screws passing through the flexible strip and the binding-strip vand engaging the threaded openings of the lugs, substantially as described.

9. In a device of the class described,the combination of a tray or receptacle having an inclined front, -provided at its upper or rear edge with a depending lange,and a transverse scraper-bar mounted on the tray or receptacle and located slightly in rear of the inclined front in position to be engaged by asqueegee or scraper afterthe same has been swept up the inclined front, said scraper ber` ing curved in cross-section and presenting a convex upper face and a concave lower face, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiixed my signaturein the presence of two witnesses.

FRED. W. RICHTER.

i Witnesses: A. J. FORMAN,

E. W. SCOTT. 

